From Sunday 8th until Wednesday 18th of December Lotto Belisol goes on training camp to Mallorca. The riders will be able to train in good weather conditions and build further on their shape. The nine newcomers will of course be there too. Only the injured Greg Henderson won’t attend the event. It’s the first training camp on the Spanish island as preparation on the season 2014; in January there are two more weeks of training camp without the riders who will be active in Australia or Argentina. The day before the team presentation, which takes place on Thursday 19th of December, the riders will return.

The conditional part of the training camp is organized by Energy Lab, which is represented by trainers Bert Ackaert, Paul Van Den Bosch and Wim Van Hoolst and dietician Stephanie Scheirlynck.

Bert Ackaert, Energy Lab: “Just like the previous years we have made a complete programme for the training camp, optimized thanks to our experiences. This is the first training camp in the run-up to the new season, so that means riding for kilometers in a calm way to sharpen the basic condition. The first days we’ve planned some endurance trainings. On the other hand we will also work on force and speed. After each training we will make an evaluation per rider.”

“Next to that we will do different tests of the wattage and power of the riders. That can be for example after they had to go full for ten minutes on a hill. That way we can make an analysis of strong and less strong points. Those form the base for the further preparation and their programme. We will also control the sweat of the riders, both composition and quantity so we can inform them what and how much they have to drink in what conditions depending on the type of training or race. Our dietician is also at the training camp to talk to each rider about his eating pattern.”

“Especially during the first training camp we won’t split the group too often in groups that always go training separately because this is one of the few opportunities for the riders to be all together. During the next training camp in January some guys will already be in competition. Sometimes we do make separate groups in function of the specialization of the riders. The men from the sprint train will get some specific exercises, among it a course with turns where we will simulate the distances to the finish line.”